Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:61
And [mention] when We said to the angles, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except for Iblees. He said, "Should I prostrate to one You created from clay?"
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah the Exalted here addresses His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: "Remember, O Muḥammad, how these polytheists (mushrikīn) cling to their error and stubbornly rise up against their Lord — in that Allah made them fearful through the confirmation of the word of their enemy and the enemy of their father (Ādam), when their Lord commanded him to prostrate before him and he refused, and out of pride refused to bow, from envy and arrogance, and said: لَئِنْ أَخَّرْتَنِي إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إِلا قَلِيلا (If You give me respite until the Day of Resurrection, I shall surely seize his offspring, save a few — 17:62). And how they confirmed his surmise concerning them, violated the command of their Lord and His obedience, and followed the command of their enemy and the enemy of their father."
By " وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلائِكَةِ " He means: "Remember when We said to the angels: اسْجُدُوا لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلا إِبْلِيسَ (Prostrate yourselves before Ādam; they prostrated themselves, except Iblīs — 17:61): he was conceited and said: أَأَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِينًا (Shall I prostrate myself before one whom You have created from clay? — 17:61) — that is to say: before the one whom You have created from clay." When the preposition "min" (from) was dropped, his word (خَلَقْتَ) attached itself to it and took the accusative, while a fool prides himself that he himself was created from fire and Ādam from clay.
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Allah the Mighty and Exalted sent forth Iblīs, and he took earth from the surface of the ground — its sweet part and its salty part — and created Ādam from it. So that which was created from the sweet part is bound for felicity, even if it be the son of two unbelievers; and that which was created from the salty part is bound for damnation, even if it be the son of two prophets. Hence Iblīs said أَأَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِينًا : namely: it was this clay that I carried. And hence too he was named Ādam, for he was created from the surface of the ground (adīm al-arḍ)."
